Well hello there, how goest thou?

TO KNOW WHEN THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE RELEASED: Go to my profile, I will start posting schedules and updates there.

For those of you that need a refresher: Team Phantom (Danny, Sam and Tucker) have made the decision to take the fight to Ivix. In order to get help from their ghostly ally Dora, they must help tonight's Kingdom's celebration to go smoothly. Dora gives each team a gift that can be used with their corrosponding traits of Protection, Bravery and Hope. Now, the celebration begins.

The Life We Fight For

Chapter 22 : At Sunset

Walking into the grand ballroom of the castle was like entering a wholly different world. The room was brightly lit with fiery torches and candlelit chandeliers. To one side there was a huge table running along the far wall completely filled with cakes, custards, children's sweets, anything you could possibly imagine.

The ceiling rose high above their heads, forming a spiral extending outwards with many marble carvings of dragons along each twist to the top.

Though such a room was big enough to house a few dragons without issue, everyone in the ballroom was in human form. They were all dressed up in frilly, medieval dresses or expensively adorned suits of clothes the modern day teenagers had only seen in their history books. The women and their powdered faces led along children with their noses high in the air and husbands who chattered with friends about the lives they led and the titles they had.

As Danny, Sam and Tucker were ushered in, leaving the overwhelmed Fiora behind, they had little time to take in the wondrous setting and were hustled over to Dora by a nearby guard.

She was also beautifully dressed with a flowy white ensemble with long sleeves that nearly reached the floor, all decorated with stones that reflected every glint of the fires lit around the room. Sam would have wished it to be black, but she awed all the same.

"Good evening, children!" said Dora with excitement. Her dress caught the light as she closed the gap between them and smiled warmly. "Now that you are here, we can begin!"

Dora led the trip to a small raised stage in the middle back of the room. On either side were guards dressed in the same pristine white as the queen herself, standing straight and at the ready for anything.

There were also a couple of well-dressed women who ushered the youngest to the side as Dora mounted the stage. They fussed with Danny's untamed white locks, blotted at Sam's dark lipstick, and tried (and failed) to hassle Tucker's beret from his head. Not ten seconds passed and with the ring of a small bell Dora was speaking. Each person turned and gave her their full attention.

"With the end of my brother's tyranny, my people can now feel safe in their own homes. Peace has been restored, and we have our special guests to thank." She turned to the children still being hassled by the prep team. "Please join me in welcoming Danny Phantom and his friends, Sam and Tucker!"

The three teens were shoved forward by their attendees and the room lit up with bright golden light. With a start the children realized the people had lit their hands with fire as they applauded, seeming calm and indifferent to such a feat. Tucker's jaw dropped and Danny's eyes widened. Sam nudged them, her signal to 'act cool', and the two straightened up to match Dora's posture.

Music began to play and the crowd dispersed, some to the snacks, some to the dance floor, and some to mingle amongst themselves.

Danny, Sam and Tucker breathed a sigh of relief. It was only the beginning of the evening, but all seemed to be going well.

The only concern in Danny's mind was that at any minute, he would get caught by Vlad and not only would he be toast but Sam and Tucker would as well. He was used to being responsible for others' well-being, but it still caused nervous butterflies to flutter about in his stomach.

Dora was quickly preoccupied with mingling among her guests and Tucker was eager to drag his clueless friends towards the snack table. Having no better ideas, Sam and Danny did not object.

There was a small huddle of girls at the table, whispering amongst themselves and glancing at the two boys. Sam rolled her eyes, glad that her friends were oblivious geeks, and stood between the two groups.

Unaware of the awkwardness around him, Danny continued to stress internally about Vlad. Mostly about why he cared in the first place. He bit into a glowing red cupcake and frowned.

'It shouldn't matter what the fruitloop thinks. I'm doing the right thing. I'm saving my mom.'

He told himself this over and over, watching Tucker devour cookies with a blank stare. Suddenly, he felt a soft tap on his shoulder.

"Sir Phantom? Are you alright?"

Danny turned quickly, his reflexes forcing him to move in a tight, quick spin. He let out a breath at finding not a threat, but one of the many girls around them standing before him. This girl had golden brown hair and orange eyes, and her dress was lavender with the same long sleeves that Danny had seen on Dora's dress.

He pushed down his fight or flight instinct and smiled as gently as he could, mimicking the other gentlemen around them. This wasn't Vlad, it was just a girl. Just a girl.

"Yeah, thanks." Danny said with a nod. "It's just Danny, by the way."

She giggled as if Danny had just done something hilarious, and the boy shifted nervously, afraid he'd somehow embarrassed himself. Meanwhile, the sound attracted the attention of Sam, who was very annoyed at the sight.

She tensed and looked on as a girl in purple conversed with a shy-looking Danny. How did she miss the girl walking over? Sam muttered under her breath about 'stupid ghost powers' and made to move towards them when yet another girl in red appeared before her, seemingly out of nowhere. She beat her to Danny as well.

"Sir Phantom! How do you like the dragon cake? Is it to your liking?" this new girl asked, pulling the halfa's attention from the brown haired girl.

Danny, continually oblivious to the slowly growing number of teenage girls, shrugged at the sweet in his hand.

"It's good, I guess."

The girls once again seemed to find his reaction funny and giggled behind their fingers. The size of the group had doubled and now the girls had begun to hand him food to try.

Sam glowered darkly at the scene before her, unnerved by the audacity of the dragon girls. She quickly walked to where Tucker was stuffing his face and grabbed hold of his collar, jerking him over to survey the mob.

"Do something!" Sam ordered, enraged. Tucker shrugged.

"Hey, 's not my crush, go save your Juliet yourself, Romeo."

Of course, Tucker wasn't exactly okay with his best friend being surrounded by girls without him, but he figured this was a problem best solved by the lovebirds themselves. Window of opportunity and all that.

Sam opened her mouth to argue and Tucker quickly pushed her cheek so that she faced Danny. He was being pulled by the arm towards the circle of dancing couples, girls laughing around him.

"Might want to act fast, Prince Charming."

Sam didn't even bother to reply. She stomped over to the group and called Danny's name. She was blocked by a wall of sparkling dresses and outrageous colors as she fought to get her friend's attention.

"Danny!"

After Sam stormed off to the quickly growing group, a short, pale teenaged boy walked up to Tucker, his eyes on Danny. He snatched a cookie and shoved a piece in his mouth.

"Who does that guy think he is, hogging all the girls to himself?" said the youth with a huff. Tucker leaned against the table with crossed arms.

"Welcome to my world, dude."

After she'd called Danny, Sam was able to see the boy's head turn in her direction but he was clearly lost as to her location. She reluctantly watched as he was led to the dance floor by a girl in white and blue. She was pretty, Sam could admit, with ash-white hair and bright eyes. She could easily be prettier than Paulina.

A heavy weight settled in her chest as she looked down at her combat boots and crop top. Would a guy be embarrassed to dance with someone like her?

Danny took the girl's hands and hesitantly began to lead her into a simple dance. Sam remembered dancing with Danny after Paulina had been possessed, and of how she had felt like she'd won the world after that one small moment. She wondered now if such a feeling was just naive.

The girls lined up and Sam was outwardly disgusted by how vain the girls appeared to be. Shells of their real personalities, driven by selfish teenage desires.

On the inside, she knew that although it would please her parents, and she might get more attention from boys, She could never look like that.

She could never be like them.

With a sigh, Sam saw an exit to the gardens on the far side of the room and ducked towards it, unaware of the sad glance she received from Tucker at the dessert table.

Danny was swept up in the push and pulls of the dozen or more teenaged girls around him. Why did he have to mention he had only danced once? He had a line from right in front of him to the back of the room of girls ready to dance with him and Danny was tired just looking at it. But this girl in a white and blue dress had gotten him cornered, and she was determined to get his attention.

"For someone who hasn't had much dancing experience, you carry yourself very well, Sir Danny." she said, her voice high and dignified. Danny guessed she was of important heritage, by the glittering diamonds about her person and the height of her nose in the air. He'd seen enough popular kids at Casper High to know a Queen Bee when he saw one.

"Thanks, but it's just Danny." he mumbled, hoping he'd scare her away with bad manners. He didn't dare step on her foot though, her shoes looked more expensive than his life's worth.

"My name is Cecile. my father is a close advisor to her Majesty." she explained, casually swaying with the music as if she'd been dancing all her life while Danny struggled to maintain the lead.

Just three minutes. He could last that long. Three short minutes and the song would end. Then, he'd ditch the girls and find Tucker and Sam. Speaking of Sam...

Danny looked over Cecile's shoulder and caught her watching them with a distant look on her face. Danny frowned and almost moved towards her when he was brought back to reality by the dragon girl's voice.

"That girl is your friend, yes?"

Danny looked back at Cecile and tried to determine how long he had left. Had it been a minute already? Thirty seconds?

"Y-yeah, that's Sam." he replied, looking over again. This time, he caught Sam walking away, her head lowered. She was headed towards the gardens. Danny's eyebrows creased in concern.

"You're in love with her?" Cecile prompted.

"Wh-what?!"

Cecile moved closer to him, her chest nearly touching his. She looked up at him through her long, black lashes and smirked.

"She's not all that pretty, I can see why you haven't made a move," she said bluntly. "Or perhaps your just not her type?"

Danny stared at the girl's eyes in stunned thought. Did Sam have a type? He guessed it would be a dark, mysterious goth guy, or a tall, handsome lover of poetry and punk rock music. Maybe both.

But Danny wasn't any of those things. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't at all like the dreamy vampire-esque men on the covers of Sam's gothic fashion magazines. He was just...Danny. A clueless teenager with all the grace of a newborn colt.

"Don't get too worked up over it," said Cecile sympathetically. "Besides, who cares what a nobody like her thinks? You've got dozens of girls right here."

The song ended, and Danny breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like he'd been freed from a spell.

"I gotta go." He said, trying to pull away. Cecile frowned and gripped his arm tight.

"Are we not good enough for you? You think she's better than us?" she taunted, settling herself between him and the direction of the doors. Danny winced.

"No! I-I don't think that, I just..."

"I get it," Cecile interrupted. "Our dear Sir Phantom hasn't the time for us, right? We're just ghosts, after all."

Danny cringed as the girl's grip tightened, and with a glance at the others in line he realized that they too were getting agitated. If he didn't do something soon, he was a dead man. The musicians were getting ready to begin the next song, he had to act fast.

"I'm really flattered that you guys like me so much, really, I am." Danny promised. "But Sam's my friend, I have to go see if she's okay."

"Indeed he does."

Both teens looked beside them curiously. Dora smiled graciously at them and put a calming hand on Cecile's shoulder.

"The night is young, and so are you two. There will be plenty of time for fun later," Dora turned all of her attention to Danny. "attend to your friend, Daniel."

Danny bristled at the use of his full name, though he didn't dare commment. Cecile released his arm and he gratefully stepped away. Dora did not look happy and Danny felt as if he were the only one missing something; a feeling he was slowly and painfully getting used to.

In exiting the ballroom into the gardens Danny sighed a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. The quiet hedges creating a circle about the warm, green grass was a comforting change from the artificial chatter inside. The swirling, neon atmosphere of the Ghost Zone twisted above, circling and twisting in its usual untamed manner as Danny walked towards the center of the garden, passing unidentified flowers and glowing plants.

There were stone benches lining a silently flowing fountain in the center of the large yard, and it was here that Danny finally caught sight of the short, dark hair of his friend seated at the furthest bench, barely visible.

He didn't say anything at first, deciding to float over to her and drop softly onto the bench beside her. Sam didn't acknowledge him, her eyes glued to the gentle streams of water flowing over the tall fountain.

She sighed, a soft, saddening noise and leaned back. Her arms crossed in ire.

"Done playing with your harem?" she said, though not as harshly as she had meant to. It was noticeably hard to snap or shout in the deafeningly quiet space of the castle's gardens.

"Huh?"

Sam's eyes finally moved, though it was to roll them around before finally landing on Danny's clueless, green eyes. She'd always liked the childish green irises that appeared in his ghost form, large and curious and toxic. But now, they only succeeded in making her more frustrated. Danny tried again.

"I'm sorry Sam, I-I don't know what I did but I didn't mean to make you mad..."

Sam huffed and reached up a hand to her friend. Danny forced himself to stay still as warning bells sounded off in his head.

'Let her hit me, I probably deserve it.'

But Sam just brushed away the white locks from his cheek and traced her finger around the circular jewel adorning his ear. Danny relaxed, continuing to hold still and let her touch him.

He'd forgotten the earring was even there. It didn't hurt at all after the first five minutes and he could thank his ghost form for that. Danny recalled Sam's verbal approval of the new addition earlier and felt slightly better. Maybe he wasn't Sam's ideal type, but she was still his friend, she had to like him at least a little.

"I'm not mad at you, Danny," Sam said at last, "I'm mad at myself."

Danny raised a baffled eyebrow in question. Before he could reply, Sam shook her head.

She didn't want Danny to run after her like she was a damsel in distress. And it certainly wasn't her nature to be dependent on anyone. But Sam knew just how much Danny cared about her and Tucker and she couldn't bring herself to push him away. Just having Danny near her was enough to make her feel secure.

In a way, they both needed eachother.

"I know you're worried about Vlad," Sam said, changing the subject with a long, calming breath. "Wanna talk about it?"

Sam pulled away and faced Danny fully. The young girl was content to squash the feelings inside of her for now. She could be patient. She had waited this long.

"There's not much to tell," Danny muttered. "I don't have a choice anymore. I can't let myself get distracted by what Vlad might think or do."

"But you still worry."

Danny's head dropped a bit and he looked towards the ground. Maybe he was being paranoid, or a worrywart, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Vlad would be disappointed in him right now. That thought alone put Danny in a defensive mood.

He wasn't supposed to care what his enemy thought about him. He was the hero, the good guy, the defender.

Yet lately, he felt as if he was just a teenager. Everything seemed to be out of his control as of late, and there was nothing he could do to change it.

Not this. He would save his mother. Maybe he couldn't get the best grades or be very confident or have a normal life, but he could protect people. It was his responsibility.

"I gotta do this, Sam. I have to try." Danny said, more enthusiastically. "If I can't save her, what kind of hero am I?"

Sam smiled, admiring the passion Danny could display occasionally. It was one of her favorite things about him.

"You'll never stop being a hero, Danny." Sam replied. "But you don't always have to push your own interests to the back burner. It's okay to want to remain allies with Vlad."

Danny ran a shaky hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I've been hearing that a lot lately." He frowned. "It's harder than it seems. I have parents, and they love me. How can I not feel like I've betrayed them both by having Vlad as a replacement?"

"No one can replace your parents, trust me, they're pretty 'unique'!" Sam chuckled. "But really, life just isn't that simple. Take my grandma for example. We're close, and she's awesome at being a total rebel. I love her to death...but she could never replace my mom. You gotta stop thinking in black and white, it'll only hold you back."

Danny took a moment to digest his friend's advice. To look past Vlad's evil actions and plots for the sake of his mother's life was one thing.

Forgiving Vlad for all the trouble he'd caused, moving on and becoming real allies...that was a different matter entirely.

"You deserve to be happy, Danny. At least try?" Sam said after Danny failed to reply. He looked back up at her and managed to nod.

He could worry about Vlad later. Now, he had a ghost huntress to rescue.

"How is it that you guys always find the most cliché places to make out?"

Sam and Danny bristled and jumped away from eachother, their faces red. Tucker laughed at the reaction, stuffing a biscuit into his mouth. Sam scowled and Danny panicked.

"We weren't making out!" the two defended in unison, only succeeding in making the tech-loving teen smirk.

"Sure, whatever you say."

Danny sighed in annoyance, standing from the bench and brushing invisible dust from his jumpsuit. They had been out in the gardens for longer than he had thought, judging by the dimmed light inside the castle and soft music replacing the lively scores of earlier songs. Danny offered a gloved hand to Sam, who took it and stood up as well. Tucker raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"We need to find Dora. We don't have all day to waste at this party." said Sam. Danny nodded, and Tucker gleefully let them back inside.

"You think she's by the dessert table?" Tucker asked, already heading in that direction. Sam and Danny each snatched an arm and pulled the techno-geek back to position.

"Focus, nerd!" Sam scolded in a whisper, her eyes scouring the room for their missing ghost. Danny caught her speaking to a couple near the stage they had been on before. It didn't seem as though she had gotten very far since the party began, such was the amount of people wanting to speak with her.

Danny tapped his friends' shoulders and nodded in Dora's direction. Then, he looked around the room once more, this time making sure he hadn't been noticed yet. The last thing he needed was another angry mob. Especially an all-female one.

Tucker was released and Sam led the way to the ghost royal in their sights. Dora met eyes with them and smiled upon noticing the three approach, and the two ghosts she was conversing with took the hint and excused themselves. Sam spoke first.

"Thanks for the cool party, Dora," she began, "but we really should get going before we miss our opportunity."

Sam made sure to be vague in the instance that someone nearby was listening in. Dora's expression turned slightly distressed.

"Oh, I do wish I could convince you all to give up on this..." said the woman in white, "but I understand your concern for your family. Come back to the gardens, we'll discuss this there."

Dora turned and gave a subtle nod to a couple of guards nearby and they followed the four out to the garden's entrance. Once there, the two took their posts on either side of the entryway, ensuring the group would not be disturbed.

The green atmosphere once again welcomed them as the teens came full circle to the large clearing where the flowing fountain resided. Dora led them to the center without a word. Before any of the group could think to speak, Dora lit her hand with green ectoplasmic energy and shot a small blast into the sky.

Danny, Sam and Tucker had all jerked to look to the swirling sky in confusion when suddenly, the same large dragon ghost that had saved them earlier appeared high above them. Tucker's mouth dropped open a bit, still not used to seeing the huge, powerful beasts.

The dragon, formerly introduced as Virgil, landed in the clearing and bowed his head to Dora. The graceful woman nodded appreciatively and ended the silence.

"My friend here will show you to the island domain." she told them, "But it will be up to you to find the monster once there."

Sam looked as if she wanted to say something pointed, so Danny quickly stepped forward.

"Thank you, Dora. We're really grateful for all your help." said the halfa.

"Anytime, Danny." Dora became serious. "I must warn you though, you will not find this opponent easy to defeat. Ivix has many forms, 'clones', as you call them, and they are his eyes and ears on his isle. No doubt he will know when you've arrived."

The members of Team Phantom all nodded, a solemn expression on their younger faces. It was finally time for them to accomplish what they'd come to do.

"We'll return, don't worry." Tucker said, trying to sound sure of himself.

Dora stepped away without a word and Virgil took the unspoken cue to spread his massive wings. In a single beat and rush of air the ghost was airborne and the others were following closely behind, waving to Dora as she grew smaller and smaller with distance.

Virgil was very fast, and even Danny was finding it difficult to keep up. They were all secretly thankful to have such powerful ghosts as allies. Especially under the circumstances.

Danny noticed that the amount of doors, islands and smaller ghosts steadily decreased the further north they flew. There were eventually no lairs at all anywhere around them and Danny could hardly blame them. Any ghost would have to be crazy to want to live near the sinister ghost that was now their enemy.

"Is it just me or is the vibe around here super creepy?" said Tucker, edging closer to his friends and shifting his gaze around.

"It's like a ghost town in the Ghost Zone." Sam muttered. "There's not a spirit in sight."

"Hard to imagine so many ghosts scared away like this. They definitely knew how insane Ivix was, otherwise it wouldn't be like this." Danny said in a quiet voice.

A dark blot of an island could be seen ahead of them now and the three teenagers were quick to sober up and focus.

Virgil led them for another couple of minutes before slowing down and coming to a stop a good distance from the isle. He turned to the group.

"Here I will wait for you." he explained. "If you do not return before midnight, I will have to report your deaths to Her Majesty."

"Thanks, Virgil. We'll make it back." Sam said, hoping she sounded sincere. She was slightly irritated that the dragon wasn't willing to help them fight, but thought better of her initial desire to argue.

Danny and Tucker also decided it wasn't worth the extra time and pushed forward, now left to their own devices. Tucker pulled out his PDA and Danny took the opportunity to ask about their timing.

"How long do we have before your copycat system gets busted back at Vlad's?"

Tucker shrugged. "At least 7 hours. We've got plenty of time, dude. What I'm worried about right now is finding our ghostly bad guy."

"Can you track him?"

Tucker didn't answer right away and instead kept his eyes glued to his screen for a minute or two. Danny and Sam waited patiently and soon Tucker was able to look up again and reply. The two slowed their pace a bit to give their friend time to explain.

"I think I can track his ectoplasm levels." Tucker explained. "If he's really the biggest thing here as Dora says he is, Ivix should be giving out the highest levels of ecto-energy."

Danny gave his friend a proud thump on the back. "You're the man, Tuck."

The island grew larger and more visible as they neared it, allowing the teens to clearly see for the first time the monstrous environment that made up the floating island.

It was silent and eerily still. There were tall trees with long branches and thick leaves that covered the ground beneath them in dark shadow. Shielded by these trees and in the center of the all the vegetation was a cavern, opening easily big enough to fit a small mountain inside. Its mouth gaped open, wide and dark, daring any trespassers to come further.

"You don't think he's in the scary, shadowy, probably bat-infested cave do you?" Danny asked with faltering bravado.

"My PDA-turned-ecto-tracker is definitely picking up some signals from that direction." Tucker replied.

"Ecto-tracker?" Sam deadpanned.

"It's a work in progress."

When Team Phantom finally landed in front of the first row of trees, the contents of the isle still had yet to make a sound. Unwilling to be the one to break the heavy silence, the trio simply pushed forward on foot, hoping the dense forest would hide their location from scouting eyes.

For the most part, there seemed to be no signs of ghostly life anywhere. The trees were still and the leaves barely made a sound under their feet. It was an isolated feeling that seemed to weigh down upon the small group of friends like a heavy curtain.

Once they reached a small break in the trees that created a bit of a clearing, they took a short break to make sure they were in the right place. Tucker pulled out his PDA again and checked his tracker.

"This is definitely the right way to go." said the techno-geek. "There's a massive spike in energy activity near that cave, totally unlike the rest of this spooky, dead island."

Sam checked her wrist ray and bracelets, ensuring she was armed enough. She also had a small blaster holstered to her hip but would only use it as a final option. Their goal was to defeat and capture Ivix, there was still too much they didn't know about how his powers worked.

"We've gotta keep moving, guys. There's only so much time left before someone figures out we're here." Sam reminded them, watching Tucker pocket his PDA once again.

"Yeah, the sooner we get out of here the better, right Danny?" Tucker looked at his friend. It looked like he was concentrating on something in the distance. "Uh...dude? You okay?"

Danny's body was tense and on high alert. Something was up, he could sense it. Tucker was right about there being a big spike in energy up ahead, but there was more energy around them than it seemed. The vibes he was getting from the island made his hair stand on end.

He'd learned a long time ago to trust his ghostly gut. And when he focused on the area around them while his friends talked, he noticed a silent shadowy movement around them every so often. His instincts were right again.

They were being watched.

Danny pretended to be staring at the first place he'd seen the shadow move, but was really readying himself to strike when next he saw the blur change positions.

"Hey, Danny?" Sam called, "What are you-"

Sam cut herself off with a sudden gasp as Danny turned quickly and fired an icy blast of cold energy to his left, into the trees and hopefully, hitting his target. He'd hoped to have trapped the ghost instead of scaring it as he normally would. He didn't want anything returning to their enemy to inform them of their arrival.

"What is your problem?!" Sam snapped, her eyes wide with anger. Danny simply flew over to where he'd fired the blast and breathed out in relief when he could make out a writhing black mist a short distance away.

He recognized the form as something similar to what he saw in his nightmares, dark, quick and possibly deadly.

His friends followed him to the mist-like creature, their hands to their weapons.

"What is that thing?" Tucker wondered aloud, his voice softer than usual. The shadowy figure was caught in ice but still it appeared freaky and disturbing to the two humans.

"I think it's one of those clones Dora was talking about." Danny replied. "I'm going in for a closer look."

As Danny neared it, the black figure slowly stilled and seemed to be looking at him, though it would have been difficult to tell had you seen the darkness that encompassed its evil features. Danny barely had time to blink before the shape of the being below him morphed, with a sickening 'swish', and became someone else entirely. The ghost boy froze.

"Danny? It's me!" came the voice of Maddie Fenton, a face to match staring up at him with confusion.

Danny felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown over him. His eyes widened and he didn't dare move. Emotions poured through him faster than he could process them, making him break out in a sweat. It was his mom. Something inside of him was screaming to fight back and not believe his own eyes, but he just couldn't bring himself to. Suddenly and with jerking movements, Danny found the strength and forward to free her.

Sam reached out to grab him. "Danny, no!"

The girl missed him by mere centimeters. The clone smiled until Danny was close enough, after which its face contorted horribly, and it stuck out it's hands to shoot a blast of green point-blank at his chest.

"Danny!" His friends shouted simultaneously.

The teen was shoved backward by the blast, only coming to a stop when his back struck a tree, knocking the air right out of him. He dropped to his knees and the clone took its chance to break through its confines and flee. It flew away with sharp and quick movements, dodging blasts as Sam and Tucker finally had the time to react and fire their weapons after the ghost.

Danny coughed harshly for a few seconds before pushing himself up off of the ground and reorienting himself. His friends jogged over to him, their shoes pounding on dead leaves.

"We lost it." Said Tucker, breathing heavily. "That thing is fast!"

Danny stopped voluntarily breathing and calmed down. His back was a little sore, but other than that he was fine. The clones seemed to be much less powerful than their master, completely different from Vlad's clones that shared the same abilities.

At being reminded of his sister and archenemy at the mansion he couldn't help but wonder what they were up to now. He'd totally skipped a meal and Jazz had to have come up with an excuse by now. Hopefully they would be able to get back soon.

"Ask me to play one more time Jasmine, and I swear I will burn this set to a crisp."

Jazz smiled innocently at the billionaire sitting across from her. After Danny didn't show up for lunch or lessons, Jazz had come up with several excuses as to where he might be before Vlad got increasingly testy. Finally, Jazz decided to tell him that Danny simply didn't want to be around Vlad at the moment, and needed some alone time.

This prompted Vlad to get very curious as well as defensive. Knowing Vlad would want to confront Danny himself, Jazz latched on to the first thing she could think of to distract Vlad.

So there they sat, on opposite ends of a small table in the library, playing chess. Jazz had learned how to play from an ex boyfriend in the Chess Club at school, and was glad she had bothered to pay attention to some of the strategies. She was no match for Vlad, but her only real objective was to waste time, so she opted for delaying his win rather than playing aggressively when she could.

They had done this for most of the afternoon, with Vlad taking occasional breaks to attend to business calls or ask about Danny.

Jazz honestly didn't think Vlad was as naive as Danny claimed, and it was obvious she wouldn't be able to keep his suspicions at bay after dinner. She only hoped she could stall for enough time.

"What's wrong Uncle Vlad? Thrown off your game?" Jazz taunted, setting up her pieces once again after a miserable (but drawn out) defeat.

Vlad slammed his palm down on the board. "Do not take me for a fool, girl!"

"You're hiding something, you and Daniel both," he continued, "I don't know what it is, but when I get my hands on that boy I will-!"

"What?" Jazz challenged, "Beat him into next week? Admit it fruitloop, Danny means something to you now. You've gone soft, like the rest of us."

Vlad stood up, his eyes narrowed in fury. He opened his mouth to snap at her when the doors to the library opened. Vlad turned his attention to the interference, hoping for once that it was the little brat in question, and friend in disappointment.

"So sorry to interrupt," said Godfrey with a dip of his head. "but young Daniel has not been seen all day, and the maids have just finished attending to his room..."

"Daniel never lets his room be cleaned." Vlad stuttered lamely. Jazz began to tense.

"Precisely my thoughts," Godfrey agreed. "I had hoped he was in here with you two, but I believe Mr. Fenton is no longer in the mansion, sir."

The two adults turned to Jazz. She sighed and stood up. At least she had tried her best.

"He's not here, obviously," Jazz told them. "But I can't tell you where he is. Sibling code, you know?"

Vlad growled and turned on his heel, storming off with loud steps. He muttered to himself about ungrateful brats and smart-mouths as he walked past Godfrey and into the hall.

"I'll find out for myself where the dear boy has gone." he said, changing into Plasmius and diving through the floor. Godfrey looked back at Jazz, who shrugged.

"Guess it's not my problem anymore." she said, "Wanna play chess?"

Wherever Daniel went, Vlad was sure he hadn't left the phone he'd given him. He could easily track Daniel's whereabouts, even in ghost form. He'd done it before, all he needed was the computer in his lab to access his GPS and track the signal.

Landing in his laboratory, Vlad approached his large computer and powered it up. He was about to go ahead with his plan when he noticed something that definitely was not supposed to be there.

It was an alert that his firewalls had been broken through and were trying to fix the breach. In other words, he'd been hacked.

Enraged, Vlad pulled up his security footage and found the culprit- or rather, group of culprits. His eyes glowed a bright crimson and his fist slammed against the clean white tabletop.

"Honey biscuits!" the man swore. "Those foolish children!"

Within minutes he had Tucker's programs destroyed and all of his own systems up and running again. Vlad opened up his portal and looked back at the footage of Danny, Sam and Tucker entering the Ghost Zone with a scowl.

"You better hope I don't find you, little badger."

Next Chapter: The hunt is on, and it's time to go head-to-head with the one who has been making their lives a living nightmare.

Thanks for your support!

Special thanks to the beta readers for their help this month.

-P